1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to production line stocking equipment.
2. Background Art
Production lines, such as automotive assembly lines, may be serviced by material handling trucks, or tow motor trucks, that deliver component parts to production stations. In many instances, a tow motor truck is used to deliver several bins or racks to an unloading area near a production line. A lift truck, or hi-low, picks up the bins or racks from the unloading area and delivers them one at a time to one or more production stations.
Bins or racks of parts may be transported in a train configuration to improve efficiency. For example, an operator may drive the tow motor truck having a train of bins or racks to a first location and disengage a trailer hook of the last rack from the hook receptacle.
Planning is required to place bins and racks in the proper order in a train. Changes in the delivery route can disrupt even the most carefully planned drop off sequence. If, for instance, the first section of a train needs to be delivered before the other sections of the train, effort is wasted decoupling the first section and moving and reconnecting the remaining heavy part-laden train sections to the tow motor truck.
Before applicants' invention, there was a need for a simplified system for stocking production lines that provides flexibility as to the order in which parts are supplied. In addition, there was a need for a lightweight part container or dolly that could be moved by workers without requiring a lift truck. In addition, there was a need for a lightweight part container or dolly that did not have hooks and hook receptacles to reduce congestion at production line workstations. Problems associated with the prior art as noted above and other problems are addressed by applicants' invention as summarized below.